


Work Doodles

by Vermilion_Blues



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Patryck and Paul are Tord’s parents, Pining, THIS IS SO OOC, Trans Character, also i have no idea where i’m going with it lmao, also swearing! is a thing! not a lot but there’s at least one, but also i don’t really care bc it’s fun to write, but its not a big part of the story, consistency is not my strong suit, i mean. to be fair. in the context of this story. how could he not be., i think that’s it?, i wanted to write something cute so i did fight me, its just, it’s basically all fluff kiddos, i’m bad at tagging oops, like pretty well., pat and pau are nosy parents, pat and pau basically immediately assume tord’s gay, there, this entire thing is basically tord pining, tord draws, trans tom, uuuh, you guys can take these headcanons from my cold dead hands
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2019-06-01 19:10:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15149927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vermilion_Blues/pseuds/Vermilion_Blues
Summary: It’s hard to be an army leader when there’s a boy on your mind, even more so when he texts you and asks for a favor. Oh, boy.—aka basically pure fluff with Tord pining after Tom, and Tom just wanting his favor.





	1. Tord Gets Mocked

**Author's Note:**

> “there isn’t enough pure tord fluff in this world” BE THE CHANGE U WANT TO SEE
> 
> i don’t.... like the title aghsgfk
> 
> “this isn’t your usual writing style!” ya this is my shitty writing style i love it
> 
> whenever tord has an emotional problem he probably runs from it lmao  
> that’s why at the beginning he sends everyone away instead of continuing
> 
> am i projecting? hella

Tord often found himself thinking about Tom.

Tom’s hair, his eyes, his face, his body, his-

“He’s blushing, Pau, he’s thinking about someone.” The sound of slight whispering behind him suddenly snapped him back to attention (and almost caused him to snap his pen), causing him to remember that he was actually in a meeting discussing... something about supplies; the topic obviously boring enough to cause him to lose interest and to zone out. He should’ve been paying attention, apparently, because it seemed as if the people around him were trying to get his attention.

Suddenly, what he was thinking about filled his head, the apparent color on his cheeks deepening and giving new light to his title as he realized just where his previous train of thought was going.

“So.” Pau’s voice rang out from next to him, smirk evident in his tone as he saw his leader’s face change from inattentive and blushy, to suddenly hyper focused, to shocked and once more very, very blushed as he realized what- or rather, who- he had been thinking about. “What were you thinking about?”

“Meeting dismissed.”

Everyone filed out of the room, confused, and yet everyone knew not to bother their temperamental leader, especially when he was deep in thought about something.

Almost everyone, that is. Pat and Pau stayed behind, smirks growing as they surrounded Tord.

“Oh, come on! Who was it?” Pat asked, looking as his blushing leader with his head in his arms. Instead of a response, a small groaning sound came from the blushing leader.

“Red Leader-“ the groaning grew in volume.

“Red-“ And grew,

“Tord!” And grew,

“Tord, we are _practically_ your _parents_ -“

“ _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA_ -“ And grew.

“Fine! We won’t bother you! If you’re going to be difficult, then we’ll just find out ourselves.” Pat said, annoyance clear as he grabbed Pau’s arm and pulled him out of the room.

Seconds after they left, Tord lifted his head from his arms, made sure no one was around, and began to doodle on the hopefully unimportant papers in front of him.

While he wasn’t Edd, and he definitely hadn’t practiced in quite a while, Tord did appreciate art. It was in fact how he had first met the other, in an art class. Edd however, took his passions and made it into a career, while Tord just made thousands of little doodles around his notes.

And he would never admit it, or allow anyone to look, but recently, more and more of them were of what he was drawing now; Tom.

As he drew, he felt himself sinking more and more into the drawing. Soon, he was left with a full body portrait of Tom, complete with (what he considered) perfect shading, lighting, and he had even grabbed a few of his colored pens to doodle in some color too.

As he stared down at his drawing, he felt his one good eye close as he placed his real hand against it.

“Shit.” He muttered to himself. “I’ve got it bad.”

And with that realization slowly sinking in, he stood up, gathered his papers, and walked out of the room.

~~

Tord’s desk chair tended to be used to sleep more often than his actual bed, which is why it was no surprise when he woke with the familiar strain on his back, crick in his neck, and his head pressed against something hard.

What was a surprise, however, were the voices that had woke him up in the first place.

“Is this him?”

“Hush- you’ll wake him-“

His reflexes worked faster than his brain, and before he even really realized what he was doing he was up, and pointing a gun at whoever was in front of him speaking.

That person just so happened to be Pat.

Tord’s eyes narrowed, his expression being one of someone who is completely done with their situation, as he saw Pat and Pau straighten up and stiffen as his gun aimed at them.

As Tord lowered himself into his chair once more and pocketed his gun, he looked at them.

“Was this really what you meant by saying you were going to find out yourself?” He asked, voice borderline incredulous.

Pat and Pau actually had the nerve to attempt to look guilty for a moment, before Pat’s eyes lit up and he held up the piece of paper that he had been holding, (and presumably talking about) the moment before.

“Is this him?” He asked, eyes bright with the possibility of getting an answer. On the paper was one of Tord’s many Tom drawings, not as detailed as the one he had completed earlier in the day, but still, it was more than just a simple doodle.

“Fuck off,” was his only response, relaxed in his chair. It was times like this that Tord thanked whatever god may or may not exist for his ability to pull a convincing poker face, because he felt like his insides were burning up from the sheer embarrassment from someone finding his little doodles.

Unfortunately, Pat just took his answer as a sign that his was, in fact, the person that his leader potentially has a crush on.

“You know, this wasn’t the only doodle we found of him.” Pau spoke up, holding more papers.

“Did you really go through all of my stuff?”

“Yes.” Pau grimaced slightly, “You really need to learn how to organize your papers.”

“They _were_ organized, you messed them up-“

“Anyways!” Pat interjected, knowing that he and Pau were already on Tord’s bad side. “That isn’t the point, you two. The point is that you have a crush and I want to know about it.”

“ _We_ want to know about it.” Pau added.

Pat sighed dramatically, shaking his head and rolling his eyes at Tord as if to say, ‘ _Look at what I deal with on a daily basis.’_ It made him snort slightly, and as Pau and Pat pulled up some spare chairs from around the room, (having to remove multiple large stacks of paper from them, much to Tord’s dismay) he actually felt himself warming up to the idea of acting like a high schooler again and babbling about one of his crushes to his friends.

At the very least, it would be nice to not have to bottle it up any longer.

He ran a hand across his face, muttered “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” and began.

“His name is Thomas, and long story short, he’s the one who gave me these scars.”

“.... _Excuse_ me?”

“Long story it is then.”


	2. In which Tord is mocked even MORE than in last chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tord gets a text, throws his phone, and then proceeds to get mocked for the next few hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there’s been so much sad eddsworld and tomtord stuff recently :( 
> 
> don’t get me wrong, i love angst, but i also love fluff and i’ve been in a fluffy mood recently
> 
> also i’ve kinda fallen into the hole that is tomatt?? i’ve never really liked it before but like. it’s actually rlly cute fuck  
> basically the only ship i don’t like (with the main 4) is mattord. and maybe i’ll come around to that one too. huh.
> 
> also i’m still projecting onto tord lmao

Sitting still and listening to others had always been issues for Tord, causing his mind to wander and miss things entirely, but unfortunately, being a leader meant that 90% of his schedule was full of meetings at all times. He remembered the good, beginning days of his army, where he spent his time designing weapons and leading attacks, and, of course, pushing off most of the paperwork to Pau and Pat.   
They tended to handle the paperwork better, anyways.

The only meetings that he could handle were meetings about attacks, strategies, and the war that they were fighting. In these he tended to take over, dominating the room with presentations, ideas, and often pure excitement. It usually wasn’t a shock to the higher ups, due to their leader often being described as.... eccentric, at best, but it was often the most emotion in their leader that the other soldiers who were lucky to be in the room had ever seen.

Because of this, it wasn’t any surprise when the generals and other few soldiers walked into the meeting room and saw their leader standing up next to what looked like a powerpoint presentation.

“Okay everyone!” Tord said, clapping his hands together once everyone had sat down. “I’ve been thinking recently...”

These meetings always took the most time, new ideas being constantly brought up and shot down. It was the only time that people felt comfortable enough to talk to Red like he was their equal and not their leader. He didn’t mind, of course, it was dangerous when people just let him do whatever he wanted even though they saw obvious disadvantages in his plans.

Tord was deep in thought with something that another general had brought up, an issue to his well thought out plan. While the others discussed it, he sat plopped down into his seat, absentmindedly checking his phone slightly while he did. He had a few notifications that he skimmed through before putting his phone back, not really processing anything he had just read.

He leaned back forward on the table, opening his mouth to speak, when his brain finally caught up with the rest of him and he froze. Suddenly he shot back, pulling out his phone and scrolling back through his notifications.

He had to double check, because despite everything, he knew for a fact that he did not see the name “Thomas” in his notifications, less so messaging him.

However, his hopes and dreams were crushed when he made it back to the notifications that he had brushed over moments before, and as clear as day, read the same exact words he had a moment before.

_Thomas: (4:18PM) hey commie  
Thomas: (4:17PM) hope this is the correct number_

“Sir?” Pat nudged him as he made a slight pained sound, face drained of color. The other generals glanced up at him at this, confused at what he was staring at on his phone. Without another sound, Tord passed his phone to Pat and buried his face in his hands.

There were a few moments of silence where Pat read the message, before the silent room was filled with his laughter.

At this Tord lifted up his head, glaring at his laughing friend. “This isn’t funny!” He scolded, face burning.

Tord’s red face just made him laugh harder, bending over slightly. “Actually, sir, I think this is hilarious.” Pat responded once he caught his breath.

He glanced back at the phone, chuckling a few more times before handing it back to Tord and walking out. “I’m going to get Pau, he’s going to love this.”

“Wait- what do I do?” Tord called out after him, looking dejected.

“Finish the meeting!”

Tord turned back to the other people in the room, softly yelling into his hands for a moment before gesturing for them to continue.

As the other generals continued speaking and planning, he wondered why the fuck he had never deleted Thomas’s contact from his phone. Half of him knew that it was because he was always contemplating calling him, texting him, sending him an email or whatever. That usually happened on nights where he had a few drinks, or on nights where his brain particularly wanted to make sure he knew his arm was gone. Still, despite his constant promise to himself that he would delete the contact, even when he was fully sober he didn’t touch it, letting it burn a hole into his pocket.

Gearing himself up for later, he sat up and tried to focus himself on the war happening in front of him instead of the war happening in his head.

~~

“You need to respond to him, _obviously_!”

After the meeting, Pat and Pau has tracked him down, obviously having a grand time laughing at him and his issues.

Tord just shot at look at Pat. “No thanks.”

“You’ve had a crush on him since forever, haven’t you been waiting for this?” Pau asked, raising an eyebrow at Tord.

“We’ve had to take your phone away from you sometimes, just so you won’t text him.” Pat added, standing in front of Tord, blocking him from entering his office.

“Keep it down!” The man in question hissed, looking around. He didn’t want it to be known around the rest of the base that their leader had feelings, let alone a crush. Having a crush made him seem more like a person rather than the war leader he wanted to be seen as. Plus, while he was comfortable in his own sexuality, he knew that not everyone would be, and he really didn’t want to start a small revolution within his army just because it was leaked he had a crush on a male.

“Just- respond to him, Tord. You’ll regret it if you don’t.” Pat said, looking into Tord’s eyes.

“Yeah, yeah.” Tord blushed, embarrassed about talking about his crush. He rubbed his only good eye, a habit he had begun to do more and more recently. He sighed deeply, looking up at Pat.

“We’re going to go get some food.” Pau cut him off. “If you need any help, come talk to us. If you really don’t want to do this, we won’t force you.”

His words were dry as he held out his hand to Pat. As they walked away, Tord heard them whispering to each other, Pat concerned and Pau confident in his responses.

“What if he never responds?”

“Trust me, he will. I give him half an hour before he comes to us for help.”

Scoffing, Tord turned away from their retreating backs, and opened his office door. He‘s Red Leader. He doesn’t need help responding to his crush from his “parents”, and much less his seconds!

Not that he was even thinking of needing their help anyways, he corrected his thoughts. He wasn’t even going to respond to Thomas.

~~

And that was how, thirty minutes later, Tord found himself half laying on his desk, staring at his phone.

He had been attempting to clean up his office, attempting to sort out important files from the trash. His office had been organized priorly, but unfortunately his particularly nosy parents had gone and moved all of his papers, turning his organized mess into.... well, an actual mess. He remembered his actual parent’s annoyance when he refused to clean up his toys as a young child, and sighed as he compared his mother and father’s perfectly clean workspace to Pat and Pau’s desks. Sometimes he felt like he was the actual adult, and that these two over glorified babysitters he calls his parents were the children.

Right now though, he felt like a fool.

It shouldn’t be this hard to send someone a message, especially to someone he considered an enemy. That was one of the best parts of enemies, you’re not supposed to care about what they think of you! Of course, Thomas is definitely more than just an enemy in Tord’s eyes, but still. He should be able to act his way through this, just as he acted his way through visiting his old friends!

Was this what people were taking about when they spoke about butterflies in your chest? To Tord, it felt more like he had a small stampede of elephants in his chest, terrified of the bees that seemed to be buzzing in his stomach.

“You and me both, elephants.” He muttered, staring blankly at his phone. Oh god, did he really just say that out loud? His face screwed up. This was really getting to him. He really didn’t want to admit it, but he probably did need help with this. If anything, it would help get it off of his mind. Maybe after sending the first text, he would be fine to send the others, without help.

He glanced at a clock. Forty minutes had passed since he first entered his office, and over half of those were spent thinking of Thomas and sending this message.

At least it was longer than the thirty minutes Pau had given him.

With that small victory, he pushed himself up, attempting to walk with some sort of pride to the dining area where he assumed Pau and Pat were. It was getting close to a normal dinner time, so he didn’t know how packed the area was going to be, but either way he knew that there was a chance of causing a scene.

As he walked through his base, he passed a few soldiers, who he nodded to as they saluted him. Even after he passed them, he felt their gazes follow him, and heard their whispers of him. It seemed as if the news of his odd behavior and Pat’s laughing had spread through the base. He shuddered to think of the rumors that were being spread about him. Some people in his base had _really_ fucked up minds, but he couldn’t really complain about it, seeing as he was the leader of a communist army. He’s many things, but he doesn’t consider himself to be a hypocrite.

Finally, he arrived at the normally open doors to the dining area. The closed door gave him a moment to pause and breathe, finally realizing he didn’t have a plan of what to say. He could hear voices drift from the other side of the doors, solidifying his thought of the dining area being crowded. Oh well, too late to back out now.

When he realized how stupid he looked, standing outside of the dining area but not actually going in, he took a deep breath and slowly pushed the doors open.

The second he showed his face, two different sounds pierced through the chatter, silencing everyone but the two who had shouted in the first place.

Those two happened to be Pau and Pat, the latter yelling out “ _Nooo_!” before sinking to the floor, and the former with a fist in the air cheering.

“I....” Tord began, as people followed their gaze to he who had just walked in. “What?” He glanced down at himself, checking for... something, whatever it was that was making the two act like this.

“Pay up!” Pau said, cackling as Pat reached into his wallet and pulled out a twenty, handing it to Pau. Everyone in the room was now watching the exchange with varying emotions, ranging from annoyed to confused to amused. Tord let the door slam behind him, causing the two (and a few others) to jump, making them remember he was there.

“Sorry sir!” Pau said as he stuffed the bill into his own wallet, clearly in a great mood. “We has a bet on how long you were going to mope in your room. Pat said over an hour, but it’s only been around forty-something minutes.”

Pat looked up from where he was dramatically placed on the floor, giving a fake sniff. “Just a few more minutes, and I would’ve won. How could you have betrayed me like this?” he moaned.

Tord just stood there, staring at them. He didn’t move, just staring at them, hands by his sides, causing Pau to shift and glance around uncomfortably under his gaze.

“Alright.” Tord finally said, moving his hand back behind him to grab the door handle once more as he spoke. “I’m just gonna-“

“No!” Pat shouted, springing up from his spot on the ground to grab Tord’s wrist. By this point, most of the people had hesitantly gone back to their own conversations, Pat’s yell bringing them back out, causing him to soften his voice. “You just got here, we’re not letting you leave just yet.”

Pat gently forced Tord over to the seats that he and Pau were sitting at the moment before he entered the door, dropping a tray full of food in front of him.

“Eat.” Pau told him, gesturing to the food.

“Did you guys really get me food?” Tord asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, we knew you were coming out eventually, and that when that eventually came, you would want to eat. It might be a bit cold though.”

Even though he felt oddly touched by the fact that they got him food, his bruised pride overshadowed it.

“How did you know I came out here for help?” Tord said, metal hand stabbing at his food while he rested his head on his normal one. “I might’ve just wanted food.” He glanced up from his food after a moment, starting slightly from the exasperated looks he was getting from the two.

“What?” he said, almost offended.

“Tord, you can say what you want, but we all know why you came out here and it’ll be better for all of us if we just get it over with.” Pau said with a roll of his eyes. “Get our your phone. Have there been anymore messages?”

Tord grumbled as he pulled out his phone, ignoring the way that Pat practically bounced next to him.

“No. He just texted me earlier and said that he hoped it was the correct number.” Tord looked down at the little red “2” that sat next to his messaging app, showing that he hadn’t even opened up the message.

“Aw, he calls you commie? Cute.” Pau muttered as he took Tord’s phone in his hands, ignoring Tord’s protests. “Let’s just start with something simple. How about... ‘Yes, this is the correct number.’”

“Or maybe ‘How the hell did you even get this number?’” Tord quipped from where he sat, staring at the other two bent over his phone. He plucked it back, staring at the screen.

“As much as I want to force you to be nice, I guess that really isn’t in your system. Say whatever feels natural.” Pat rolled his eyes and spoke.

“Nothing feels natural.” Tord muttered again, brow furrowing in thought. He sat there for a few more seconds before typing once more.

_How did you even get this number, witness?_

He held his breath, finger hovering over the send button before Pat leaned over and sent it himself, causing Tord to sputter and panic as the message went through. He let out a pained breath as “ _delivered_ ” appeared under the text, looking at Pat and Pau with wide eyes.

“Were you going to send it yourself?” Pat asked, one eyebrow raised.

“Yes- well- eventually I would’ve!” Tord sputtered, indignant, but still slightly panicked.

“Eventually.” Pau drawled, glancing down at Tord’s phone. “Now all we have to do is wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you guys: the red army is a serious, legitimate army with a bloodlusting and sadistic tord as it’s leader!  
> me: they’re all dorks. all of them. how tf did they even manage to start an army.
> 
>  
> 
> ok so i will update soon i just wanted to get this out here before i forgot about updating in general oof 
> 
> also this might be hella out of character and all that but like. it makes me happy so i don’t really care about it being OOC. also i don’t care about how goofy it is, eddsworld is a comedy show before all else and i want most of my works to reflect that, plus this fandom needs some happiness every now and again!
> 
> anyways time to go   
> i apologize but i have no idea when the next (and final?) chapter will come out   
> tbh this was meant to be a one shot anyways so.


	3. In Which Tom FINALLY Arrives!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tord gets a text back, and is asked... for a favor??

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY MY BOY IS HERE  
> also there isnt enough fluff in this fandom >:(   
> give me my tooth rotting sweetness cowards!!!  
> anyways. more projecting. my tomkin came out a bit.  
> also i love the name thomas isnt it just so nice  
> also i feel like tord started saying thomas to annoy him but grew to like it   
> that's my excuse for why it switches around
> 
> also tord is still kinda in crush denial.  
> also i say also a lot!

“Now we wait.” Tord repeated, staring at his phone. “Waiting…. for Thomas to respond. Waiting, waiting, waiting. We wait. Tom will answer later. For now, we wait. Waiting, waiting, wai- Hey!”

 

Tord’s impatient and slight panic driven rambles were cut off as Pat reached over and plucked his phone out of his hands for  _ the third time that day.  _

 

“You need to stop doing that.”

 

“Please.” Pat said, staring at him. “Do something else. Literally  _ anything _ else.”

 

Tord frowned, pouting slightly. He knew he was probably being a pain, but in that moment he didn’t care. Still, it was probably a good idea to listen to his second, and get some work done while he was waiting. 

 

“Fine.” He grumbled,  reaching out his hand. “I’ll answer some emails.” 

 

Pat and Pau looked slightly skeptical but still handed his phone back, Pau looking over his shoulder as he got it back to make sure he did go to his emails. Once he did, Pau sat back with a sigh, and the three began to eat once more, Tord scrolling though his emails with one hand and shoveling food into his mouth with the other while the other two chatted quietly as to not disturb him. 

 

At one point, the two got louder, causing him to glance up to listen to the conversation.

 

“For the last time, water  _ IS _ wet you complete idiot-“

 

“In order for something to be wet, it must be able to be dried, you absolute buffoon! Can you dry water?  _ Can you dry water ?” _

 

Tord looked at his two seconds, the two men who he knew had both gone to college, who both had extremely high IQs, and who were currently arguing about whether water was wet with the same incredulous look he seemed to be giving them a lot lately. 

 

“Quick question.” He said, interrupting their steadily growing argument. “What the fuc-“

 

Suddenly the forgotten phone in his hand buzzed, and within moments all of the extreme military training and basic common sense left his brain, and his response was to scream, fall backwards, and throw the offending object in his hand towards Pat, who dodged the throw and let it  _ (and his leader) _ land on the floor.

 

As Tord’s back hit the floor, he faintly heard the flatter of his phone, and for a moment, had the thought of “I hope that isn’t broken,” before his back slammed down and the breath was knocked out of him. He laid there for a few moments, unfortunately aware of the fact that the room around them had gone silent, and that most, if not all of the people in the room had seen him fall due to them originally watching Pau and Pat’s argument moments before the buzz. 

 

Tord himself was the first to start laughing. At first it was a few snorts as he realized the position he was in, legs up on the chair, back on the ground, and hair everywhere. Then it grew into fully body giggles as others joined in, looking at their leader splayed stupidly on the ground. Pau, instead of running or falling like the others, took one for the team and stood up to grab the phone as Tord hauled himself of the ground with a few more giggles His giggles were unfortunately cut off as Pau handed him the phone, and he looked at the notification that had caused the issue in the first place, seeing the name “Thomas” in bold letters on the screen.

 

By this time most people had gone back to their conversations, and a loud buzz had filled the cafeteria, but the noise almost faded as Tord stared at his phone, completely silent as he slipped back into his chair.

 

“Tord?” Pau asked, raising one hairy eyebrow.

 

“Fuck.” Was all that he responded with. He almost didn’t want to read the message, eyes screwing up, but he forced himself to drop his eyes and look at the words written just below Tom’s name.

 

“ _s_ __o_ this is the correct number then” _

_ “i just asked edd to type the first number he thought of. you’d be shocked with the amount of luck he has.” _

 

“Wow.” He muttered, pinching his nose. “We should probably do something about that eventually.”

 

He shifted in his seat, aware of the eyes of his seconds on him as he began to type out a response.

 

_ What do you want? _

 

Once he sent it he looked up at the two in front of him, staring into their eyes.

 

“Why the fuck can anyone access my personal number?”

 

“Uh.” Pau said, blinking.

 

“I wasn’t aware that anyone could?” Pat finished for him. “We’ll get on that though.”

 

Tord rolled his eyes. “Please do.” 

 

_ Ding! _

 

“ _ aw… what a warm welcome. aren’t you glad to hear from an old friend?”   _ Tord winced at the hostility that practically dripped through the phone.

 

“ _ besides, i need a favor. one that i’m pretty sure only you can do.” _

 

The wince dropped from Tord’s face in a moment, staring at his screen.

 

“Oh.” He said, looking at the screen, attempting to make sense of it. 

 

What on earth would Thomas want, especially from him?

 

Especially  _ only _ from him?

 

Pat and Pau looked up the moment that he released his small “Oh,” and Pat was close to crawling over the table to see what he was looking at. Wordlessly, to keep them from making any more scenes, he passed his phone over, threading his fingers and resting his chin on them.

 

“A favor?”  Pat asked, brow furrowing. “What favor would he want? Especially from you?” At the look Tord have him, he clarified. “I don’t mean to be disrespectful, sir, but it’s fairly obvious that he doesn’t like you.”

 

“I know.” Tord said. Once Pat and Pau were done with reading the messages, they began to hand it back, both slightly startled by the small  _ ding! _ of a new message.

 

_ “you do realize you have your read receipts on right” _

_ “i am fully aware you read that message _ ”

 

Tord, who had lifted the cup of coffee that his parents had brought him earlier, (although, with the amount of sugar and cream, it could hardly be called coffee) began to choke on what he was drinking. 

“Shit,” he croaked out, typing.

 

_ My bad for having other things to do other than respond.  _

_ What is the favor you need? _

 

He turned off his read receipts.

 

“ _ it’s a technical thing. is there any way we can talk about this in person?? i’d much rather do that.” _

 

_ I’m in Norway Thomas, I don’t believe we can meet up with each other anytime soon without one of us having to take a plane. _

 

_ “shit” _

_ “also did you turn off your read receipts” _

 

Tord flushed, scowling at how easily Tom saw through him.

 

_ We could have a phone call like every other normal human being on this planet. _

 

_ “nah man everyone texts now.” _

_ “also you so did turn them off lmao” _

 

_ We could have a phone call like every other civilized* human being on this planet. _

 

_ “rude.” _

_ “are you in a place where i can call?” _

 

_ Give me a moment. _

 

Tord, with a sigh, stood up and placed down his food. 

“It seems like I unfortunately have to cut dinner short. I’m going to go have a pleasant little phone call with him.”

 

“Ooo!” Pau called, raising one eyebrow as Pat snickered. “Well don’t let us keep you away!”

 

Tord stuck his tongue out at them, walking away as they did the same.

 

“ _ hurry upp i don’t have all day” _

 

Rolling his eyes, he pulled his phone to his ear and called the number.

 

“Finally.” Is the first word he hears when Thomas picks up.

 

Despite the time that they had been apart, and the absolute hatred Tord told himself he felt for Tom, he couldn’t deny how his face flushed and his heart beat more when he hears that voice. 

 

“Tord?”

 

“Uh- yeah- sorry. I was distracted for a moment.” Tord said, flushing even more out of embarrassment.

 

“If you say so.” Tom sounded anything but convinced, the lightest chuckle on his lips. Tord yelled at himself for internally swooning.

 

“What was it you wanted to talk to me about?” Tord said, walking to his office. He pushed open the door, looking at the papers that were still strewn all over his floor with an annoyed expression. Those papers would probably stay where they were for quite some time, if his life kept going the way it was.

 

“Oh. That.” Tom went silent.

 

It was silent for a few moments, as Tord waited for him to continue. 

 

“Yes?” He prompted.

 

He heard Thomas take a deep breath on the other line, and heard some shuffling as he moved around.

 

“Sorry, has to make sure the door was closed. The others are downstairs.”

 

Tord blinked. Although it made sense, his old friends never were one to truly separate often, it still shocked him that even after all this time, they were still living together. He did leave them behind.

 

“Tord?” Thomas asked. His voice sounded softer, almost…. scared. Open. Vulnerable.

It ~~scared~~  startled Tord to hear him like that.

 

“Hmm?” He responded, not trusting his voice fully, but still wanting to keep up his mask of indifference.

 

“I’m going blind.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“I’ve known for a while- I mean- this isn’t really surprising- I haven’t really told any- I guess that the others may remember- I don’t really know- I think-“

 

It took Tord a moment to process the information before realizing that Tom was panicking more than he was. 

 

“Take a breath Tom. Start from the beginning. What do you mean you’ve known for a while?”

 

He heard Thomas take a deep breath, trying to compose himself, sighing into the receiver. “I’ve known for a while. Some time after you left,” Tord didn’t miss the slight venom in his voice. “This future version of Edd came back, chased us through the town and tried to kill Edd because apparently cola is going to be banned in the future and his brilliant plan was to kill himself in the past so he didn’t have to deal with it in the future-“

 

Tord balked, having no idea what Tom was talking about. They must have gone on… many, many more adventures than the ones that Edd had told him when he had come back for his robot all that time ago. He swallowed at the memory.

 

“ANYWAYS!” Tom’s voice ripped through his thoughts. “The point of this is that Future-Me and Future-Matt came to stop Edd from killing- well, himself- and Future-Me had these visors or google things? I’m not really sure- but they were attached to his face and when I asked him why he said that he went blind because eye cancer and that that was why he had those google things and he said it was because he had it because lasers to the face- which isn’t as concerning of a sentence as it should be- and when they left I saw your army’s logo on the side of them faintly so I’m assuming that you made them and-“

 

“Woah woah woah!” Tord said, cutting off his rambling. “So you’re saying- You need a pair of goggles that can connect to your brain and can allow you to see despite your eyes not working? And it also needs to limit the spread of eye cancer? Or does the eye cancer just affect your eyes and not your brain? I’m going to need to do more testing before I even start working on a potential _prototype_ and I-“ Tord let out a groan of frustration. “I have no way of doing testing because you’re a long plane ride away and I can’t really just go away from everything to do tests, not to mention that even if I could leave, I wouldn’t have any of the supplies I needed there-“

 

“Is this your way of saying that you’re going to do it?” Thomas interrupted, voice full of hope. 

 

“Thomas-“ Tord sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. He paused, thinking of his next words carefully. Would he do it?

 

He thought for a moment, before softly exhaling. 

 

“I guess you’re getting on a plane to Norway anyways, Thomas.” He finally responded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhhh idk sorry for the wait it'll be another long wait for #4 love yall and thank you for sticking with me <3  
> bls excuse any mistakes (but tell me them so i can fix them)
> 
> also i cant believe i wrote 11 pages for an LA project but for this after a month i come back with only 6 pages smh  
> ironically this is the longest chapter yet.
> 
> also i make fun of how often i use specific phrases in here, mainly in the "for the third time that day" and the incredulous look  
> ... and my characters exhale and inhale a lot.... tho i guess that's good? breathing is... good technically.
> 
> OH ALSO LIFE UPDATE: IM GOING TO MY SCHOOL'S HOCO IN A SUIT IM SO HYPED


	4. Here He Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tom finally arrives and assumptions are made by everyone. Also, Pat’s a nosey lil bitch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shdgakdhak not a large fan of this chapter  
> HI! ITS BEEN MONTHS IM SORRY  
> this chapter was supposed to be the last one but then it just.... kept going and i realized that i needed to find a place to stop it before it took too long to write. i needed to let y’all know i was still alive uwu  
> also i just realized that i didn’t tag trans tom. my baddd  
> when i was writing this i realized it had been so long since i wrote the other chapters that i literally couldn’t remember what their comversation was so i had to reread my own story in order to make this story somewhat consistant.

The next few days where a blur of recruits cleaning the base, of scientists moving equipment in and out of labs, and of Tord himself, ordering people around and finding ways to get Thomas from his house in the UK to the airport, then from the airport to the drop off spot (he didn’t trust anyone on his air crew enough to pick up Thomas, and he was definitely not going to tell a random pilot where his base was), and then all the way to his base.

No one knew _who_ was coming, just that someone was. Of course, this caused rumors and gossip to spread. The only clue was that this person, whoever they were, was important to their leader.

And the new rumor was that they were important enough for Red Leader to make them their own customized room. 

“Don’t you think that this… may be too much?” Pat asked, quirking an eyebrow in the doorway of the new room Tord had made for Tom.

Tord’s back was to Pat as he messed around with the pillows on the bed, pleased with the new room. He had specifically ordered blue walls, a checkered bedspread, and even a small mini fridge for alcohol to be brought into the previously blank room.

“Yeah, probably.” Tord said, shrugging.

“Then… why do it?”

Tord paused, seemingly fighting with himself for a moment. 

“As stupid as I know it is, I can’t help but wish that…” Tord paused, turning to look at Pat. “That maybe he’ll want to stay. Maybe he’ll see how it is here, and maybe… just maybe… he won’t leave.”

Pat blinked, and Tord felt his face burn with embarrassment. 

“Wow,” was all that came out of Pat. “This is worse than I thought.”

“Shut up.” Tord said, walking towards the door. “I know that he won’t stay, but it’s still nice of me to give him a place to stay.”

Pat backed up with a smirk, allowing Tord to walk through the doorway. “Alright, whatever you say.”

The two began to walk away, Pat barely missing the glance that Tord threw back at the room.

 

~~~ 

When Tord opened his eyes to the unfortunate blaring of his alarm, the first thing on his mind was “Here we go.”

Sitting up in bed, he rubbed at his working eye, reaching for his phone to shut off the awful horn. Why _was_ his alarm going off so early?

He paused as he looked at the date, realization passing over his features.

 

Oh. _Oh_.

 

Suddenly flying out of bed, he tripped through his room as he rushed to get himself ready as fast as possible. Even though he knew that he had set his alarm for hours earlier than needed, he still rushed through everything, including throwing on his best jacket and fixing his hair so it didn’t look like a complete mess. 

Practically running to the door, he paused for a moment to brush his hands down his shirt and take a deep breath, looking into the mirror he kept by the door for times like this. He ran a hand through his hair once more, nodded to himself, and walked through the front door with a straight back.

“I was wondering what that thumping was.”

With a blink, Tord looked to the side to see Pau waiting next to him. 

“Shut up.” He grumbled, continuing on.

“You do know that we have a few hours before we need to pick him up, right?” Pau raised one of his eyebrows as they walked, voice smug.

Tord just grumbled again, eyes narrow. “Is the base prepared?” 

“As prepared as it can be.”

 

Tord let out a sigh. “Good.”

 

~~~

Despite what Pau had said, Tord continued to spend the next hours bouncing inbetween various departments and offices in the base, making sure everything was absolutely perfect.

At every location, he met with the leader, the assistant leader, the manager, the assistant manager, and at least 3 of the working soldiers, just to be absolutely positive that everything was working properly. Occasionally he heard of a slight mishap, but he mostly just checked in and kept himself busy for the few hours before they had to pick up Thomas.

Finally it was time, and with a sigh as he looked at all the things he had yet to check on, he followed Pau and Pat out of the house and to the car they were taking to where Thomas was landing. They were all dressed in uniform, Tord cutting an impressive and intimidating frame, despite the sweaty palms and panic he felt. He rubbed his palms together, body attempting to get rid of some of his nerves, and glared back at the amused glance that Pau gave him.

The drive to the drop off place was quiet, Tord sitting in the back while Pat and Pau chatted quietly in the front. There was a slight flurry of snow falling, and Tord, not for the first time in the drive, wondered if Tom had packed warm enough, or if he should’ve brought another jacket.

When they arrived at the drop off location, his answer was given to him. He was the first to spot Tom, eyes widening and breath hitching slightly as he instantly began panicking. He quickly smoothed his face out before either of his seconds could notice, and when he stepped out of the car his panicked thoughts were almost enough to cover the fact that Tom was shivering, one arm wrapped around himself while the other held his phone. Tord’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the old ratty hoodie Thomas wore, the same blue one he had owned for years. No doubt he wasn’t wearing anything warmer than a short sleeve tee-shirt underneath, and he was obviously cold.

“You’re a fool.” He spoke, arms crossed as he looked at Tom.

Tom’s head snapped up, but he hesitated, and even without pupils Tord still felt the burn of eyes dragging down his scars.

“Excuse me?” He asked, his tone indignant. Tord rolled his eyes, striding forward closer to the other as he unbuttoned his coat.

“What’re you-“ Tom spluttered, eyes widening slightly. Tord just shrugged off his coat, handing it to Tom.

“I can’t have you die of cold before we even get to the base. You wore a thin, ratty hoodie to a northern country in the middle of the winter. Take the damn coat.”

Tom grumbled but obliged, pulling on the thicker coat, allowing Tord a pleasing moment of seeing the man he might have a small crush on in his jacket. Now that the issue of the cold was solved, and they were closer together, Tord allowed his eyes to brush over Thomas. He was pleased to note that he was still taller, slightly looking down to meet Tom’s eyes. The other man was mostly the same, a thinner build than Tord’s, with the same spiky hair. Tord did notice a red rim around Thomas’s eyes, but whether that was from rubbing them, irritation from the cold, or something else, he wasn’t sure yet.

Tord glanced over his shoulder, realizing that he hadn’t heard anything from Pat and Pau in a while, and saw the two of them hunched behind the car, watching them intently. He sighed loudly, throwing his head back slightly as he turned.

“Well?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. The two jumped into action, Pau actually heading towards the things that Thomas had brought to pack them, while Pat smiled widely and came straight towards him and Thomas.

“Hello! You must be Thomas!” Pat said, holding out a hand to shake Tom’s.

“Call me Tom. And you are?”

“I’m Pat, To-“ He stopped, realizing he didn’t know what to say. Did he say Red Leader? His name? Did he just say his second? Did he say that he practically raised the man next to him?

“My second, along with Pau over there.” Tord finished luckily,  looking at Pat with slightly narrowed eyes.

“Yes! His second second in command.” He paused, looking at Tom. “I hope this isn’t rude, but I’ve heard absolutely nothing about you!” 

Tom raised an eyebrow, glancing at Tord before turning back to Pat, “That’s not surprising. Tord and I don't exactly get along.”

“You don’t?” Pay asked, head tilting at the new information. “Do you mind me asking why you’re here?”

Thomas gestures to his eyes. “I’m going blind. Your….” He hesitated, voice strained with his next word, “...Commander, here, is going to help with that.”

Pat hummed, and Tord knew that he was making connections in his head, which was never a good thing. “How were you so sure that he was going to help you? If you don’t get along, then how were you so sure he would help you?”

It was an innocent question on the surface, but Tord knew him well enough to know that it was anything but innocent. Pat had a plan here, but Tord wasn’t sure what it was yet. 

“Pat-“

“I just knew.” Tom responded smoothly. “You could say that I got a glimpse into the future, and even if Tord couldn’t help me, it was worth it to ask.” 

“You seem to trust him quite a lot. You flew all the way here, from England. And yet you say you don’t like each other. Why? Do you guys not hate each other as much as you may think?”

Alright, there was _definitely_ a plan here, and a plan that would most likely end bad for Tord. 

“Pat-“

“No, we definitely do dislike each other. However I am very close to a group of people Tord _used_ to be close to. And while I don’t believe Tord cares about them anymore- he does care about how they’ll track me down if I disappeared without notice.”

Ouch, that hurt a bit. Tord needed to stop this, more venom was seeping into Tom’s tone. 

“ _Pat_ -“ 

“Are you sure?”

“Wha-“ Tom began, before being interrupted by Tord.

“O-KAY I think that’s enough interrogation!” Tord said loudly, cutting off Tom and any more questions Pat might have.

He grabbed Pat’s arm, pushing him towards Pau to grab Tom’s few things before guiding Tom a few feet away to the transport to the base.

“I’m very sorry about him, he gets over excited with new information sometimes.” Tord apologized.

“You’re sorry? That’s rich.”

“Hey!” Tord exclaimed, laughing softly.

They stood in silence for a moment, Tord just taking in the sight of the other. He would never admit it, but he did miss his old friends. Sure, Edd was blindly optimistic, Matt was a narcissist with an IQ of 5, and Tom was…. Tom, but that didn’t change the fact that the three idiots were his family for years. His ambition and disregard for feelings couldn’t quite cover up the memories that dragged themselves out into the open when he looked at the other.

Tord sighed, shaking his head. He turned away from Thomas, calling out to Pau and Pat.

“Hey, you guys done?”

“Yessir!” Pat responded, brushing his hands. He glanced at Tom for a second before looking back at his leader. “Should we get going?” 

Tord, who was slowly getting more and more exhausted as the day went on, nodded, and directed Tom to the back door of the car they were taking. Once in the car, Tord leaned his face onto his fist and sighed.

 

The car ride back was awkward. Tom stayed mostly on his phone, scrolling through a mixture of apps repeatedly, reloading each one as he opened it. He had earbuds in, and occasionally Tord could see him squinting at the page. He didn’t seem to be listening to music, but Tord could see him highlighting text, and having his phone read it to him.

Tord knew that Tom was going to go blind, but he thought it was going to be in the future. Logically, he knew that it made sense that Thomas would only come to him if he was getting bad, but the emotional side of him, the side that wanted to pull Tom close and not let go, almost refused the reality of Thomas going blind. 

Not if he could help it. 

When they finally arrived at the base, Thomas looked exhausted. He rubbed his eyes and pulled the jacket Tord had given him closer as they stepped out of the car. After Tord had gotten out, Thomas had come around and stood next to him, waiting on where to go next. 

Tord didn’t want to admit it, but Thomas looked adorable.

A slight blush raising to his cheeks, Tord turned towards the building, Pat and Pau leading the way as he and Thomas followed. Tom stayed quiet, whether from exhaustion or something else, Tord wasn’t sure, but when Pat and Pau entered the base, opening the doors wide for the other two, Tord heard the chatter and talking fall to silence instantly.

Tord kept his back straight, looking forward as faces turned towards him, his and Tom’s footsteps being the only sounds echoing through the room. He glanced down towards Thomas, and upon seeing the slightly panicked look on his face, he placed his hand on the small of Tom’s back and started guiding him towards the elevator.

After he did this, hushed whispers spread through the room and Tom stiffened up more. Suddenly, Tord realized that the whispers were most likely about his jacket wrapped around Thomas, and although he knew he shouldn’t, he felt pride rise in him. He knew he didn’t have any claim to Tom, but him wearing his jacket was a sign to all of the other people in the base, a sign to back off of what they probably considered Tord’s. He sent a smirk to a few recruits in the crowd, causing the whispering to pick up, and continued walking with Tom. It felt good to have a connection to Thomas, even if it was untrue.

Eventually, he reacted the elevator, walked in with Tom, and pressed the button for the floor Tom would be sleeping on.

“Are you tired?” He asked, looking at Thomas.

“Yeah.” Tom replied, looking everywhere but Tord. He had a slight blush on his cheeks, since he had most likely come to the same conclusion about the whispering as Tord had.

Tord wasn’t sure if the blush was from anger, or embarrassment, or even a mixture of both.

Tord nodded at his response, continuing up the elevator in silence. Eventually they reached the floor, and Tord walked out of the elevator with Tom following.

Tord’s own room was on the floor above Tom’s, but Tom was sleeping on the same floor as Pau and Pat. The room he was staying in was technically originally Pat’s, although he quickly moved into Pau’s room, leaving an empty “guest room.”

They stopped at the door, Tord unlocking and handing the keys to Tom before opening it. The room was exactly the same as it was before he left, which Tord let out a sigh at, because although he restricted access to that floor to extremely high level soldiers only, he still didn’t fully trust most of his army.

Tom let out a slightly appreciative tone at the room, shrugging off Tord’s jacket before handing it to him. Tord accepted it back, and they both stood in an awkward silence for a moment. 

“So- here’s where you’ll be sleeping for your stay here.”

“I figured.”

“You can order room service, I wrote the numbers down for ordering food next to the bed, but if you want there is a cafeteria downstairs.”

“Mhmm.”

“And the bathroom is on the right, and Pat and Pau are sleeping just down the hallway, so if you need anything they’re close by-“

“Tord…”

“And I’m assuming that you’re still on testosterone, and I’m also assuming you brought it with you, and if you need any help with that you can ask me- or if you’d prefer, we have many on site clinical staff-“

“Tord; I’ll be fine.” Tom’s voice broke though Tord’s slightly nervous ramble.

Said man froze, stumbling slightly before pausing.

“I know you will. I just don’t fully trust everyone here, and I want you to be fully comfortable.” He laughed slightly, averting his gaze for a moment. When he looked back up, he saw Thomas squinting at him slightly, so he continued. “Plus- I’m still shocked that you’re here. And the entire base feels the same. You’ll probably get a lot of looks around here.”

Tom smiled, rolling his eyes. “Can’t be more than what I get on a daily basis. Black eyes, remember.”

Tors smiled back, taking a step back. “Good to know you’re suited for it, then. We should start tests tomorrow morning, if you’re up for it. Dinner will be at 6 if you want to join us, although if you want to sleep that will be allowed. I would say feel free to walk around, but I’d rather give you the tour before doing that. There’s some… weird rooms, and weird people in this base.”

“Noted.” Tom nodded. The slightly awkward atmosphere still hung over them. “So… testing tomorrow?” 

Tord smiled, “Yup. I’ll come get you at the time. Try to get some rest.”

Tom smiled back, nodding. “Will do.” He pauses as Tord stepped out, grabbing the door. “And Tord?”

Tord turned, looking at the other man.

“Thank you- really.”

And with that last, blinding smile, he closed the door, leaving a blushing and stuttering Tord outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh yeah? next chapter may not come out because if there’s anything i’m good at, it’s not finishing things :)  
> i will try to work on it though because i do love this story even if i’m waning in and out of the eddsworld fandom.  
> i love the fandom and the show, but there’s not really much content for it anymore. I know people are still making stuff, but compared to other fandoms i’ve started entering, there really isn’t much. idk. that’s why i’m still writing this. to keep content flowing. even if it takes months at a time, and even if the chapters are hella short.  
> also formatting is stupid and useless.


	5. finally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tom realizes some stuff and theres medical tests

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI IM BACK MY BAD FOR LEAVING FOR SO LONG  
> uh  
> tw: hospitals and hospital stuff  
> idk im bad at medical stuff  
> also tom is trans bc fight me but its not a big part of the story, theres like 2 lines about it

“Sit down on the bed, please.”

“Fancy place you got here.” Tom said, looking around the room. It was a stereotypical hospital room with a table, a bed, and a few other metal hospital devices that Tom couldn’t name.

“We do have quite a lot of high quality gear here.” The nurse who had led him into the room said with a kind yet apprehensive smile. He paused, glancing at the file that he held in his hands. “Do you mind on the gender of your doctor?”

Tom didn’t know how they had his medical forms, but he shrugged it off. “I don’t care. As long as they know what they’re doing.”

“Alright.” The nurse said, nodding his head. He clicked his fingers on the table for a moment before nodding again. “Alright. I’ll send in a doctor shortly, you can stay in here. This will be a basic exam so there’s no need to change into a gown at this moment, although a doctor may ask you do to so later.”

Tom nodded, and the nurse walked out. As crazy and dream-like this whole situation had seemed, he was almost impressed. Tord really had managed to build something for himself out here, even if he did have to shoot down and explode their house for it. 

Tom’s expression turned sour, just as it always did when he thought about The Incident (the capital letters were important). As much as he hated to admit it, he  _ missed _ Tord when he was gone. Sure, they had never gotten along very well when they lived together, but him being gone seemed to have left a hole in their friend group that they couldn’t fill with any other. And then, when Tord reappeared, with his fake smile with too many teeth and his twisting words, Tom couldn’t stand it. He left, found a new place, and then…. well, he didn’t like to think of the events that caused the scar that crossed his arm, and the scars that covered Tord’s body. 

He almost regretted it, when he saw Tord again after so much time. The other man’s right side was entirely covered in harsh red scars, but the logical side of his brain knew that he had no choice other than take down the robot or let the world be destroyed. 

Okay, the world being destroyed was a bit dramatic, but he knew that Tord had no good intentions for that robot. As wonderful as his intentions may be, to have a world where everyone is equal, he couldn’t have used that robot for good. It was impossible.

Right?

Tom frowned deeper.

“Sorry, I hope you didn’t wait too long- are you alright?” The doctor walked in, eyes crinkling in concern. 

“Yeah, sorry- I was just thinking about… stuff.” Tom responded, waving his hand around his head. “You’re my doctor?”

The doctor smiled at him, an honest smile that didn’t hold the slight anxieties of all the other nurses who had seen him today. “Yup! I’m Dr. Wellbur, but I prefer people to call me Dr. Ethan. They/them pronouns please!” 

Tom froze, not expecting it, but feeling slightly warmed by the courtesy. He smiled at the doctor, feeling better then he had a moment before.

“Uh-“ Tom said, realizing he hadn’t responded. “Thomas, but call me Tom, and he/him.” 

The doctor’s smile never truly left their face as they went through his checkup, leaving the rest of the appointment in a blur of medical speak and pinpricks and research on his body.

After what had seemed like hours of tests by a multitude of doctors, he finally saw Tord himself. 

“I can’t believe I’m glad that it’s you and not another doctor.” Tom said, voice sarcastic

Tord smirked, tilting his head. “That’s a shame, considering that I’m here to do more tests. Now,” Tord held out a hospital gown, shoving it into Tom’s hands. “Put this on.”

Tom frowned exaggeratedly at the gown, groaning, before an honest questioning look passed over his face. “Uh- Tord? Can I wear my binder under this or should I take that off?” 

Tord blinked at him for a moment. “You can keep on all undergarments on under it, and that includes your binder, but I can get you an alternative if that’ll make you more comfortable.”

Tom paused before shaking his head no and once Tord left the room he changed. He paused while changing, Tord’s kindness of finding him an… “alternative”, whatever that meant, was making him feel softer than it should’ve. Shaking his head to clear it of thoughts of Tord, he walked out to find Tord in the hallway.

~~~

When he walked out, he saw Tord deep in thought, leaning against the wall. His metallic arm was in full view, and was rubbing against his chin slowly. 

“Uh- Hey?” Tom said, breaking Tord’s thoughts and causing him to snap up. “So what’re we doing?” 

Tord looked conflicted for a moment, before moving from the wall and sighing slightly. “Standard brain tests. I just want to see if it’s an issue with your brain or an issue with your eyes.”

“It’s my eyes.” Tom said instantly, looking at Tord.

“I still want to run a test, just in case.” 

Tord looked tired. Looking closer, Tom could see deep eyebags hidden under his working eye, covered by what looked like concealer to keep him looking awake and alert. 

“Okay.” He complied slowly, realizing how stressed Tord was. He used to hate how confident Tord always looked, how his confidence and arrogance radiated out and made him think he was better than others, but now, when he looked weaker, exhausted, it just looked… strange. Like it didn’t belong. 

If Tord was surprised by his sudden compliance, he didn’t show it. He nodded once and began walking down the hallway, gesturing for Tom to follow him. Tom ran a bit to catch up with him, feeling a slight bit self conscious in his hospital gown as every doctor, nurse, and patient they passed stared at him with wide eyes. 

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” He mumbled sarcastically, eyes scanning the faces around him. He heard Tord snort from next to him, a wry, amused smile spreading across his face, causing Tom to slightly smile back. 

“You know-“ Tord started, before hesitating. “We have a wide variety of doctors here.” Tord was staring straight ahead, pointedly not looking at Tom. 

“I figured.” Tom said, looking at the other strangely. 

“If you ever wanted to…” Tord cleared his throat. “Get something off your chest-“

Tom interrupted him. “I can’t tell if you’re offering top surgery or therapy.”

Tord let out a shocked laugh, a small bark that left his mouth with a smile. “Both, honestly. We can do whatever you need here.” 

Tom shook his head, smiling. “I think Edd and Matt would be a bit confused if i returned from a trip and had had top surgery.”

Tord’s face fell at the mention of his two friends, and Tom felt guilty for a reason he couldn’t understand. 

Before he could say anything more, Tord stopped at a door. 

“In here.” He said, gesturing towards the room. When Tom walked inside, he saw multiple machines and strange devices, many of which looked like they were half completed. The room was generally a mess, with almost every surface covered in some form of metal device. He turned to Tord, who was scratching his neck slightly. “This is one of my private labs.” He said, looking at Tom, slightly embarrassed at the mess. “It’s a bit of a mess at the moment-“

“Implying that it’s clean at other times.” Tom jokingly interrupted him, allowing Tord to relax with a slight snort. 

“Just sit down somewhere.” Tord rolled his eyes as he began tinkering with one of the devices.

Tom scanned the room for a blank space. “Uh, can I move things?” 

“Oh- uh- yeah. Sorry, there’s not much space.” Tord blushed slightly, not looking at Tom.

Tom smirked and moved some random scraps of metal off of the counter and hopped up next to Tord. 

“So… what exactly is happening?”

“We need a brain scan. I know that you said that it’s eye cancer, but I want to make sure that nothing is spreading to the brain or that it didn’t originate from the brain.”

Tom shifted slightly, leaning over to look at what Tord was working on. It looked like a bowl, with weird wires and things sticking out of it. He had no idea what most of it did, but Tord seemed satisfied with whatever he had done to the machine because he straightened up, smiling.

Unfortunately, Tom was leaning over to see the machine clearer right as Tord straightened up, causing Tord to accidentally smack Tom in the nose, making them both move back in pain. 

“Oh- uh- I’m so sorry!” Tord said, looking at where Thomas was holding his nose.

“No, it’s fine, really-” Tom tried to say, but Tord was moving in closer. 

“Here, let me see-” Tord cut him off, holding Tom’s face and moving close to see his nose.

“I’m fine, really, it was just a small smack.” Tom said, embarassed by how Tord was treating him. Tord looked at him in the eyes, seemingly unconvinced, before his eyes scanned over Tom’s face. Tom felt himself brush brightly as Tord’s gaze dropped to his lips, before flickering back up. Tord turned bright red and shot back as he realized how close he was to Thomas’s face, and that he must’ve made Thomas uncomfortable. Tom chuckled awkwardly, rubbing his neck and dropping his gaze.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize how close I had gotten- I should respect your space more- that was really inappropriate of me-” Tord was rambling, and Tom was shocked to find how endearing he found it.

“Tord, really, it’s fine. Let’s get on with the medical exam, okay?” Tom reassured, amused when Tord glanced up and then back down embarrassedly. 

“Okay. Okay.” Tord said, quietly, recompossing himself. “Okay, here. This device will go around your head, and will scan it and your brain to try and get as much information as it can so my doctors and I can analyze it. If there’s any large anomalies, such as tumors, the computer will inform us so we don’t have to waste time searching through the information in case something really bad is happening, although I don’t believe this is the case. 

“Okay.” Tom said, shrugging. The device didn’t seem too complicated, and while he still didn’t fully trust Tord, he didn’t have many other options, and Tord seemed to be trying to make him as comfortable as possible. Tord looked at him, seemingly shocked by his quick approval, but he lifted up the device and placed it comfortably onto Tom’s head. Or, well, as comfortable as a giant metal bowl can be. Tom felt wires surrounding him, and felt some sticky things connecting to his temples. 

“Uh-” He started, before the machine started whirring, blocking out his voice. He closed his eyes, feeling anxious in the enclosed area and just hoped that it would be done soon.

It was over in what could’ve been an hour or a minute, Tom couldn’t tell. When the device was finally lifted off of his head, he exhaled loudly, opening his eyes to see Tord looking at him worriedly. 

“It was- uh- loud in there. Wasn’t expecting that.” Tom said, embarrassed about his fear. Tord nodded, murmuring something that sounded like an apology as he turned back to the computer that the machine had been connected to, scanning what looked like miles of code. The computer beeped for a moment, causing Tord to blink his eyes, reread what he had read, and then click a button. He continued scanning as Tom watched him, reaching up to rub the sticky residue off of his temples. Tord finally straightened up, nodding at the computer before typing some more.

“Okay.” Tord said, turning to Tom. “I don’t believe that there is any tumors or cancerous growth in your brain, however I’m sending the data to my team of doctors for them to look over as well. For now though, I think I’m going to start designing something that’ll get the cancer to stop growing in your eyes, as well as something that helps you see better, I noticed you having trouble reading in the car…” 

Tom stopped paying attention as Tord turned to a blank blueprint, doodling some designs and writing down some ideas and notes. Tom watched him, watched how his expression shifted into focus and watched as he slowly stopped talking, tongue peeking out from in between his lips as he doodles. He watched as Tord’s eyebrows creased in concentration, and how his eyes seemed to sparkle as he drew. He knew that Tord liked to draw, but he had never seen him do it, he knew that the man usually stayed in his room whenever he drew, which was rarely, compared to Edd, who’s drawings and art had been sprinkled around the house, taped up on walls and in piles on end tables and the counter. 

Tom’s eyes wandered around the room as Tord worked, scanning the metals and scraps that he could see. The room looked well used, and everything in it seemed to be in a half finished state, as if Tord would start an idea, get another, and then hop to the new one. The only fully finished machines in the room were the device he used on Tom’s head, and what looked to be another replacement arm in the corner, wrapped in plastic. 

“Uh- Tom?” Tord interrupted his thoughts, causing him to snap his head back. “You don’t need to be in here, you can go back to your- the room prepared for you or you can go get food, or do something else. Just stay away from areas where training is happening, I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Tom raised an eyebrow as he hopped off the counter. “That’s a first.” He said wryly, walking towards the door. He heard Tord suck in a breath and paused as he spoke again. 

“Tom?” He started. Tom looked over his shoulder to see Tord gripping the counter, looking down at nothing. “I’m sorry.”

Tom paused, looking at the man who he had hated for years, the man he had fought many times before, the man who he had shot from the sky, the man who he had never heard an apology from, and smiled. Maybe things were different, he thought, as he looked at the face that he loathed for years. Maybe things were different.

“Thank you, Tord.”

Yeah, things were different.

**Author's Note:**

> italics r stupid and that’s why only like 6 words are italicized
> 
> i maaaaaay write a second chapter to this where tom comes to the army base for a reason and tord is basically like “holy fuck” and pat and pau are like “HOLY FUCK THATS HIM” and everyone is really confused at why tord’s seconds are practically screaming when he walks in
> 
> also?? i hate the name “pau”  
> do y’all have any alternatives? i don’t want to use the name paul because that’s pretty disgraceful to the irl paul (yes i tagged paul it was what popped up hush)
> 
> oh and this is 1000 something words! nice


End file.
